This week in China, it’s a rollercoaster of emotion. From the justice given to a rape victim following Weibo pressure on the government, to scorpions dumped in residents’ homes to ‘settle’ a compensation dispute, there’s some good, some bad and some very ugly.

The Strange

1) Silicon Facial and Body Disguises Available on Taobao

Source: shanghaiist.com

For those of you who once dreamed of being Chinese for a day, grandma for a day, or pregnant for a day, the path to fulfilling that long unquenched fantasy is available on Taobao for as low as 800 RMB (and as high as 60,000 RMB).

The products, ranging from ordinary masks to fake pregnant bellies and breasts, have raised concerns from the netizen community that criminals might use them to disguise themselves.

For pictures of 19 year-olds dressing as grandmas and fake breasts, click here.

2) Skyscraper Window Falls on Passerby in Hangzhou

At the end of June we told you about old skyscraper windows in Shanghai being swept by the wind and destroying cars. The danger, it turns out, is also present in other cities.

Zhu Yiyi, a 19 year-old woman living in Hangzhou, was hit by falling glass while walking past the 23-story Qingchun Development Building. Witnesses saw a 1-meter sheet of glass strike her from behind, almost entirely severing her left leg below the knee. The young woman, who received compensation from a commercial building operator, faces amputation.

3) Residents Wake up To Scorpion Infested Homes

Source: www.chinadaily.com

Residents at Shenzhen's Huawu alley woke up on Thursday morning to find their walls and floors covered with deadly scorpions, the largest of which measured up to 10 centimeters.

A young man was seen dumping the contents of a barrel by doorways and windowsills by one of the residents. The alley, under demolition, has been the source of heated disputes over compensation between residents and developers.

The Discussed

4) Rape Case Dismissed Because “He Used a Condom”

Source: www.globaltimes.com

On May 17th, a 26 year-old female teacher in Guizhou, Zhou Qin, was raped by the chief of the local Bureau of Land and Resources, Wang Zhonggui, after a banquet for government officials in which she had been told by the school principal to toast each guest (reportedly having to drink 15 cups of baijiu).

Wang Zhonggui, one of the guests, proposed to drive her back home. Instead, he drove her to his office, where he subsequently raped her. Zhou was told at the police station the next day that the offense was not rape, as Wang was wearing a condom. A cursory investigation was conducted, during which a used condom, bed sheets and toilet paper were found. The case was dropped due to lack of evidence.

Zhou posted her experience on her Weibo page as a plea for help and justice. After two months of thousands of people offering her support and calling the matter to attention, the government was forced to act, and Wang Zhonggui was arrested last week.

For the full story, click here.

5) Big Money to be Made on Weibo

Source: joshuaongys.com

The future of advertising in China, it seems, is leaning on the Chinese version of Twitter: Sina Weibo. In view of the platform’s sheer number of online users, estimated at 140 million, advertisers have finally caught the bait.

A recent story revealed Ye Feng, a marketing professor in Beijing who’s gathered 300,000 followers on his Weibo page, was consistently receiving calls from PR companies to plug in certain products. The going rate for a Weibo post? 5,000 RMB. We’re not great in math, but if our calculations are correct, that’s 25,000 RMB a day plugging in 5 products in 140 character messages.

Celebrities, on the other hand, could earn up to 100,000 RMB for every post they make promoting a certain product.

6) Collateral Damage in Wake of DaVinci Fiasco

Source: www.scmp.com

Shanghai-based luxury brand DaVinci has been at the maelstrom of a scandal that has impacted the entire luxury furniture market in China, when it was revealed that most of their products were in fact produced in Guangdong, contradicting the numerous ‘Made in Italy’ labels.

CCTV further disclosed on Sunday night that the high-end furniture, which can go upwards of 100,000 RMB a piece, were partly polymer, mixed with other chemicals, instead of the professed ‘rare wood’.

Now, sales persons in competing firms like Duke York, Mahogany and Lucca Magic have recently also backtracked on their claims of international origin. Other firms, suffering considerable losses in sales, such as France-based Roche Bobois, have demanded for more measures from the government to ensure quality controls to reassure customers.
 

Related links
Offbeat China: Car-Quakings, Highways Collapsing, and more…
Offbeat China: Bribes, Wives and more…
Offbeat China: Glass Bombs, Erotic Convos and more…

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